7/6/07 – Spain – Rock music legend Ken Hensley, who is best known for his work with classic rock groups Uriah Heep and Blackfoot, has just unveiled possibly his most important work to date – the rock opus Blood On The Highway. Germany’s Politur Rock Records has just released the critically acclaimed masterpiece in which Hensley, who has recorded 13 studio albums and one highly acclaimed live 2-LP set with one of Britain’s hardest rocking ensembles Uriah Heep, could not be more excited!

“So give me five guys who can rock, who don’t know how to stop, send them ten times round the block just to add a little mystery, give me radio with balls, someone to help us fill the halls and we can grab ourselves a piece of Rock and Roll history.”‘(This Is) Just The Beginning’

Rock’n’Roll in the Seventies – a particularly colourful chapter in music history. There’s been hardly another era in the annals of popular music that has had an equally significant influence on the developments to come, proved to be a lasting inspiration for many artists and changed so much in political and social terms. Ken Hensley experienced the golden Seventies in his position as a true rock star. As Uriah Heep ‘s main songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and keyboardist until 1980, but also as a successful solo artist with numerous impressive releases in his own right, he went through countless ups and downs, enjoyed successful concerts, suffered difficult phases, yet only ever wanted one thing: to continue his life as a musician. From the stuff that well over thirty years of a wistful musician’s dreams are made of, Ken Hensley has now written and composed an album that is exciting and sounds authentic to the last note. Blood On The Highway is much more than a pure concept album. It’s a memoir of a golden decade, Hensley ‘s tribute to perhaps the most important era of the genre and a haunting rock album full of emotions, vitality and dynamism. Or, as Hensley puts it: “Blood On The Highway tells a very special story that is autobiographic to a large extent, but also reflects the experiences of many of my friends and colleagues. It’s the story of the Seventies from a rock musician’s perspective.”

Hensley was supported by a number of renowned singers whose voices suit the individual songs. “I wanted to reflect the different characters of those days, the many facets that Rock’n’Roll consisted of back then,” he explains, substantiating his selection: “Jorn Lande has so many voices within his voice and, as a self-confessed student of ’70s rock, captures perfectly the energy and passion of the great singers of that time. The charismatic Norwegian singer recorded five tracks (‘This Is Just The Beginning’, ‘Blood On The Highway’, ‘You’ve Got It’, ‘Okay (This House Is Down)’ and ‘We’re On Our Way’); Glenn Hughes (ex-Trapeze, Deep Purple) lent his voice to two. “Glenn sings on ‘The Last Dance’, and I absolutely wanted him on ‘What You Gonna Do ‘, a number that raises the all-decisive question after years of excess and, later, rejection: Where do you want to go with your life?”

Hensley enlisted the expressive Eve Gallagher for his compositions about love, lust and passion. “I wanted a female voice for the ‘relationship’ song, but I wanted a very specific voice,” comments Hensley. “Eve really was the perfect choice for ‘Think Twice’, a number full of feeling and depth.” ‘It Won’t Last’ saw Hensley reunite with his former Uriah Heep colleague, John Lawton , who proclaims his categorical belief in the futility of running away: “No need to take the blame, no need to change your name, it wasn’t your mistake, you were trapped and you had to escape, go on and ride the crest, thinking it’s you that’s blessed.” It would be difficult to imagine a more stirring appeal for facing reality!!

Naturally, Ken Hensley also sang three songs himself (‘There Comes A Time’, ‘Postscript’, and ‘I Did It All ‘). Having penned all the songs and lyrics, he left his own musical mark, always taking care that as much as possible from the era that Blood On The Highway deals with is transported to the present without ignoring the possibilities of modern studio technology. Hensley : “This is a traditional rock album with a modern flair because it was produced on contemporary equipment. The recordings sound as authentic and honest as possible, which means few synthesizers, real strings and a real piano.”

To Hensley, Blood On The Highway is a reminiscence of his own life, a kind of retrospective of an era when music was still pressed on black vinyl records, when the only guys who wore long hair were musicians, who also wore weird clothes and played extremely loud. It’s no look back in anger, no summary of time lost, but an ode to probably the most exciting period of his life. Is there a message on Blood On The Highway, a moral to the story? “No,” says Hensley emphatically. “In those days, every musician followed his dream. If anyone had given them advice or warning, the reaction would have been: thanks for the advice, but I’ll do it my way anyway!”

“And so the wise old gipsy drifted slowly away,beaten by the game he’d taught so many to play,he said “I’d do it all again if I had the chance”,but I’m ready now for one more bow, I’ll take the last dance.”‘The Last Dance’

Epilogue:Ken Hensley still has his dreams: for example to perform Blood On The Highway on stage. “One of my dreams is to perform the album with my band, the guest vocalists and a 25-piece string section in as many big cities as possible, not only in England and America, but also all over Europe, Australia and Japan.” The idea doesn’t seem far-fetched as Ken Hensley performed his fascinating rock opera, Blood On The Highway, in Hamburg, Germany on May 22, 2007. Likewise, his autobiography (under the same title) is to be released on July 20th and a live DVD is scheduled for release later this year.